


Sweet Understanding

by MollysChambers



Category: Little Shop of Horrors - All Media Types, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/F, Guess who gets eaten by a giant plant!, I'm a proud millennial plant mom and this is the fruit of my womb, Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Kara is Audrey, Lena Luthor is clueless, Lena is Seymour, Thirsty Lena, blood and chlorophyll, little shop of horrors au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2020-11-27 09:08:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20945846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollysChambers/pseuds/MollysChambers
Summary: Lena Luthor knows she's going to be stuck forever working at Luthor Flowers and Gifts under the withering stare of her mother, Lillian, until a strange new acquaintance gives her a shot at having it all: fame, fortune, and the girl of her dreams.Or; it's the Little Shop of Horrors AU





	1. Downtown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena Luthor lives with her mother above their flower store in downtown National City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Downtown, that's your home address.  
Downtown, where your life's a mess.  
Downtown, where depression's just status quo,  
at LUTHOR FLOWERS AND GIFTS

An alarm clock goes off at 7 and Lena Luthor starts her day. It's not her clock, but it's been her habit ever since she moved back in with her family above the flower shop they own in downtown National City. The original wake up call had been set by her brother, Lex. He had to be up early to make it uptown to the law firm where he was a clerk. Even though Lena's commute was only as long as her walk down the steps to open the shop door, she couldn't help but wake at the klaxons that announced her brother's long day ahead. When Lex left, she thought she'd be able to enjoy a couple more hours of sleep, but she discovered that he wasn't the only one on the block who rose with the sun. She lays awake and imagines she has somewhere else to go too.

The blaring crow of a rooster echoes comically from a phone in the bedroom upstairs. This is the third time it’s gone off and Lena gets out of bed. She jumps into yesterday's jeans and a sweatshirt and puts her hair up while she checks on the plants in her room. She slips on sneakers and skips down the steps, opens the door and grabs the broom she uses to clean up the sidewalk just in time to hear it.

"Good morning, Lena! Happy Friday! Have a great day today!" Her upstairs neighbor, Kara, silencing her final rooster alarm, is sprinting out the door. She slows to a jog to add, "Sorry no coffee this morning, news never sleeps! And the bus is never late! I'll bring this weeks stack of CatCo Weekly with a latte this afternoon if you'll forgive me! And please let me know what I can bring tomorrow night!"

Lena giggles out an "Of course" and Kara clicks her heels before resuming her sprint to the bus stop around the corner.

And Lena stays downtown. She has a lot of work to do before her mother, Lillian, comes into the shop. She'd brought her supplies down the night before. In the back room she'd laid out bags of soil and perlite, bamboo trellises, moss, and pots. She creeps back up to her bedroom and hoists the two large glass beakers that hold cuttings from her massive monstera deliciosa. A few weeks in water and their roots had exploded, filling the glass jars with new growth, fresh leaves had even begun sprouting out of the vine. Now, it is time for a new home. 

Lena's got this routine down though. The shop opens at 11. Lillian will be there at 10:45. Kara said good morning at 7:45. Lena needs to build a moss pole to stake her vines to, make the perfect blend of potting mix, arrange those luscious fenestrated leaves, and tuck those new baby roots in just right. No problem, she's washing the last bit of dirt out from under her nails by 9:00. Then again, this is the 8th clone she's propagated from the same monstera, by the overgrown state of her room she's probably gotten too good at caring for the plant.

She's had enough practice. Lena has spent hundreds of hours in the back room of the shop, tending to her private conservatory. She'll spend a few hours repotting overgrown orchids, carefully inspecting and trimming the waxy grey roots and settling them back in an arrangement of wood chips and moss. If she's feeling daring, she might glove up and tend to her various cacti. In a creative mood, she might work on wiring and trimming one of the bonsai trees she had. The tropical bonsai that lived indoors could probably account for a week’s worth of time at the work table, not to mention the native tree specimens she'd foraged that lived out on her fire escape year round. If she was feeling particularly out of sorts, she would simply lock the door back up and head to one of her favorite nurseries and browse for another plant to receive her care and affection. All of this happened before quarter to open.

She poured herself into her plants, and the flowering abundance of her bedroom was the manifestation of a green thumb and a heart full of love with no place to put it. But the plants had to stay there. Although, now she was starting to let them creep into the domain of Lex’s abandoned bedroom. Lillian owned the shop and the building, and was the sort of miserable person who took another person's happiness as an insult. Lillian’s half of their apartment on the second floor was as Spartan as a Doric column. So Lena was sure to have any evidence of her happy habit tucked away in her oasis before Lillian emerged to lurk around the shop and scare a few customers into upgrading one of Lena's curated arrangements into a classic wad of roses.

After her hands are scrubbed and her newly potted plant has been situated just so, Lena gets ready for the second time. She gets properly dressed for the day and heads downstairs again. Her hair is neat now and her shoes aren't grass stained. 

She has 30 minutes left until Lillian finally storms into the shop, so Lena picks up the copy of CatCo Weekly she’s kept by register all week and rereads her favorite article, "Chengdu Gourmet: Come for the Bowling, Stay for the Potstickers" by Kara Danvers. 

A week ago, when Kara delivered the bundle of papers with a large chai latte, Lena cracked the issue open to make sure the copy on her ad was right, "Luthor Flowers and Gifts. Best Florists 2018 Catco Weekly readers poll. Custom arrangements for your home or event!" Lena didn't know how they won that, considering she had enough time on Saturday to read the whole issue cover to cover three times between helping a handful of customers. She had to wash her hands three times too, as the ink practically jumped off the cheap paper of the free weekly periodical. She probably had enough time to learn how to make those potstickers too. The shop was closed on Sunday, Lena was supposed to get brunch with Kara but a last minute cancellation meant she had time to read it again. On Monday she did the crossword and sudoku puzzles in the back pages. It was a pretty difficult crossword but, since she'd been doing it weekly since they started stocking the paper, she was starting to catch on to the puzzle master's tricks. On Tuesday she reread her horoscope and discreetly researched astrological compatibility charts and then frantically closed all the tabs on her phone. Which meant Wednesday and Thursday were devoted to memorizing the entire article so she would have something to talk about when Kara stopped by with this week’s bundle.

Lena was picturing the restaurant from Kara's review, the sound of bowling balls thundering overheard and smell of chili oil and garlic and soy wafting off a bowl of steamed dumplings bathing in a sweet brown sauce, when she was startled by a hand clapping down on the counter.

"It's almost 11."

"Good morning, mother."

"Well, are you going to do anything today or are you too busy trying to teach yourself how to read from that rag?" Lillian spits out her question while darting her eyes around the store. Lillian’s pointer finger slips across the counter to within an inch of her eye and she inspects it for a molecule of dust.

Lena folds her paper and gets up to grab a cloth and spray bottle of cleaner. She knows the shop is spotless, but she also knows it's easier to look busy than convince Lillian to change her mind. And Lillian had decided a long time ago the Lena was as useless as she was worthless. She takes advantage of Lena's departure to steal her seat behind the register and diligently count and recount the drawer.

Lillian had always been mean to Lena, but she hadn't always been broke. The meanness started when Lena's dad, Lionel, came home with a five year old Lena in tow. That's when Lena learned the word 'bastard'. The money went 15 years later when Lionel was caught up in a conspiracy of fraud and embezzlement and was bankrupted and imprisoned. What had been Lillian's vanity store in a gentrifying neighborhood turned into the family’s sole source of income, the apartment above now home to the remaining Luthors. But Lillian was accustomed to giving orders, so Lena got used to putting in the work around the shop.

Now the shop runs itself, more or less. Opening consists of setting out a few displays, receiving a few deliveries, and disposing of the remains of the worst stragglers among the discounted stems and arrangements. Once or twice a week, Lena gets to enjoy making fresh bouquets, trying to dress up some of the old flowers with new to create exciting looks and smells that are mostly for her to enjoy.

When Lillian is in the shop, Lena limits herself to sweeping the floors and going through the motions of the day to day. They had the cleanest windows on the block because of Lena's humdrum afternoons. She bustles about but keeps her ears open to nod or harrumph in placid agreement with Lillian's grievances of the day, no matter how vile. Afterall, Lillian was the only family Lena had left, as far as Lena was concerned.

"Do you have anything you want me to say to your brother?" Lillian inquired as she stood from the register, slamming it shut with a ring.

Lena doesn’t have anything to say to Lex. She had started considering herself an only child when the neighborhood didn't gentrify as expected and Lex tried to violently adjust the demographics himself. The whole block had heard his xenophobic ramblings and watched as Supergirl stopped his bullets and hoisted him out of Lena's life. Lena doesn't miss him, but he is still Lillian's pride and joy. For two years Lillian has been constantly travelling between the federal facility that held Lena's father and the maximum security prison where Lex would spend the rest of his life; and Lena worked to keep her afloat and pay for their home and legal fees. When Lena's father died in jail, she realized how close she was to being truly orphaned. That's when she knew she would be stuck downtown forever, using her half a degree in biology to help her mother sell wilted bouquets to the other chumps.

"No."

"I’m sure he misses you too. I'll be back on Sunday. Don't do anything foolish while I'm gone."

At least Lillian respects a small business budget, Lena thought as Lillian tucked an envelope of cash under the register for her. Her rigid bookkeeping was a bit of a nose thumbing at the unscrupulous and illegal accounting of Lena's father. 

Lillian leaves to go visit Lex and the shop stays open. Lena knows she is alone and can take her pay and enjoy a Friday afternoon off, but she had worked hard to keep them in what business they had. She was proud of her hand in the shop, even if sometimes she felt more imprisoned than her brother there. It had involved hard and careful work on many levels, creating a business worth patronizing and restoring some reputation in their slice of National City.

Reputation was another kind of currency, afterall, according to Lionel Luthor. Sometimes Lena feels silly, like a teenager doing chores for her allowance. Spending all her time trying to build a little ant hill out of the debris of her family's mountain. She feels sillier when she thinks about how much she had taken their lost wealth for granted. She'd dropped out of college during the first family trial. Watching her surname forcibly removed from a building at school was stressful enough but when administration officials from Harvard started testifying to having taken bribes to accept Lex, the looks around campus became unbearable. She'd assumed she'd be able to slip right back into her studies after the news cycle moved on, but the second trial ended that thought. The whole country saw the footage of Supergirl catching Lex's bullets, the ones aimed at their neighbors and the ones aimed right at Supergirl's heart. Lena's testimony wasn't as scintillating, so people stuck with what they knew. She might as well be a villain like the other Luthors. As defense lawyers whittled away at what hadn't been seized by IRS, Lena took solace in her goodness, whether the world knew of it or not. And, she believed in her father's promise that at least she'd gotten into college on her own merits, even if she wouldn't get a degree to show for it. So she's grateful to have a job and figures she won’t get any customers if she’s not there to make any sales.

It had been hard staying there alone after Lex’s attack. People avoided their name. Or unknowing customers recognized her as the girl with the homicidal brother and never came back. But eventually some came to know her as the clerk who brought people from the sidewalk into the shop to keep them safe. She provided refuge to their friends and loved ones while they awaited the police and Supergirl. They were grateful to be buying prom corsages and not casket wreaths. Lena tries to be kind to every customer, even if she can tell they are trying to piece together what it is they don’t trust about her. She smiles through it despite her natural inclination to run to the back of the shop every time the bell rings above the door. Luthor Flowers and Gifts isn't thriving, but she’s amazed most days that it’s still open at all and she happily pockets her modest cut.

And a little money goes a long way for Lena. After all, it's not like she's going to go on a bar crawl with her squad of succulents. They don't like to be away from their grow lamp. And, while her strelitzia is a welcome bedroom companion, it has yet to ask her out to dinner and a movie. Since she moved back, her fertilizer budget outstripped her clothes budget. That’s how it was until Kara moved in upstairs a few months after Lex was put away for good.

Because Kara would say good morning to Lena every day. And then Kara would come and buy a bouquet for her kitchen table. And then Kara would stop in for a chat. And then Kara would drop off a treat and then Kara would stay for lunch. And then Lena had a friend. A friend to sometimes go to brunch with!

A friend who she is now expecting to come by for her regular Friday visit. 

Lena won’t allow herself to look up. If she looks out the window she won’t look down again until she sees Kara carrying a teetering stack of papers down the sidewalk. She can’t read the paper again though, the ink has gone beyond smudgy to being nothing more than the dusty pollen of news on the petals of the pages and Lena is trying to stay clean. She tidies up all the bouquets and straightens the card rack. She rearranges the pots and vases so that they are in color order by size and material (they had been in size order by material and color). She sweeps the floor for the ten thousandth time. And then the bell rings.

“Oh, hi Mike.” Lena sighs when she turns to greet her visitor.

Mike is holding an especially disorganized pile of CatCo Weeklys. He cranes his neck around the stack to give at tight smile before he plops them down next to their designated newsstand by the door. 

“Hey Lena, Kara got stuck at work up town. She gave me a chocolate thing and some coffee to bring you too, but my bus broke down and it was getting cold so I figured I’d just have it, right. I mean, no one likes cold coffee!” he says with a laugh.

“Well, I’m glad it didn’t go to waste.” Lena grits out as she takes the old stack of papers out of the newsstand and into the back room to be recycled. She takes a moment to collect herself at her work table. Kara wasn’t coming. What kind of work emergency could a freelance restaurant critic get into anyway? But maybe she’s finally getting a break at real reporting like she wanted! But Mike drank her fucking latte, and Lena doubts that he’s taken this time to stack the new papers neatly on their shelf. But maybe Lena is just missing whatever it is that Kara sees in him.

Lena enjoys a sardonic chuckle when she sees the thoroughly manhandled papers are indeed still slumped on her floor. Mike is leaning against the counter now, as if standing exerted too much energy. 

“Anyway, Kar wanted me to remind you to text her anything we can bring tomorrow night. I’m gonna run upstairs and shower and get changed, those papers get ink everywhere!” and he walks out and up to the apartment he shares with Kara, leaving black ink smudges across the counter and the otherwise pristine glass door.

Lena bends down to start organizing the newspapers in their right place and she grumbles to herself, “You could bring all the tequila in the world and it wouldn’t be enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Strange Plants are My Hobby
> 
> (Da doo!)


	2. Strange Plants Are My Hobby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara goes to a dinner party at Lena's and meets some of Lena's other friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It got very dark...  
And there was this strange humming sound,  
Like something from another world...

Kara is getting ready at human speed. She learned the term 'fashionably late' from her sister, Alex, during one of her first years on Earth. It didn't do her any good to be the first dork 20 minutes early to the party when she was a teenage alien and it wouldn't do her any good now. She could hear Lena pacing around anyway, so giving her time to get her apartment and her mind straightened out was really the polite thing to do. 

Lena's dressed cute, Kara thinks as she sneaks a glance through her floorboards, I'll wear that blue top she likes. She blushes and averts her eyes back up to the wall of her bedroom.

"And is that what you're wearing?" She yells through the wall to her roommate, "You're taking this average Mike thing a little far, Mon-El." She watches through the wall as he takes an appraising look down at his stained joggers and Pabst t-shirt that he won at a bar arm wrestling contest and huffs when he lifts his arm to give the middle finger to the wall directly in front of her.

He pokes his head in through the bedroom door, "Kara, this isn't even a real party! It's us, Jimmy and the Luthor looking at plants until I die of boredom. I want to be comfy for the snoozefest … and I need to be limber to put all these bugs in their stuff!"

"Stop it, you look gross and I don't want to inflict your Sunday pants on James or Lena. And I don't even get why you want to bug the place. We both have super hearing and we haven't heard anything in a year!"

"Well yeah, something must've spooked them. But I know they're still up to something. I mean, Lex knew where every single alien family lived in this neighborhood and he was going to kill all of them, Kara! How could he plot all that in that little apartment without them knowing! And Lillian's visiting that sick fuck right now!"

"And that's why we're going down to have a nice, casual but not sweatpants casual, night with Lena. She never gets a night without Lillian and I think she needs some friend time." Kara says as she throws a pair of jeans at Mon-El. "So at least put on some real pants."

"Fine, Supergirl, but I'm still bugging the place. It's good to keep recordings. We aren't always here."

Kara rolls her eyes and continues finishing her makeup. Mon-El was here all the time. Two years undercover, spying on the Luthors and he hasn't advanced beyond apprentice super hero or pretend boyfriend. There was no one on earth from the same galaxy as her that wasn't either her cousin, Clark, or some deranged villain out for her head. When Mon-El crash landed she was certain she'd found someone to bond with over the lightyears they'd travelled. She had wanted to teach him truth and justice and the honor of being a superhero. Her sister didn’t like that Kara put her neck out there, but gradually came to accept that Kara was Supergirl now. Even James understood intrinsically what it took to be super, and he's eager to work with Kara even though he's limited by his humanity. But Mon-El seems past teaching and Kara has given up on sharing duties or life with him. He is hopeless.

She's ready for this mission to be over with him. But the affordable rent and nice space are hard to part with; neither CatCo nor being Supergirl pay particularly well. Sometimes when she would hang out with Lena she'd forget about their original mission entirely. She was just another girl with a crappy roommate in a cheap apartment in Downtown National City. She likes to think her friendship with Lena is normal, not the unintended result of a violent act of terrorism. Of course, Lena doesn’t know it was Kara taking all of Lex’s fire. .

Kara frowns into the mirror as she applies mascara. Doing eye makeup with her mouth closed is one of her least appreciated superpowers. When she decides she's ready, she strolls into the kitchen to grab a tiny flask and hands one to Mon-El, who is sitting on the couch and picking at a hole in the knee of the jeans he's now wearing.

"Everyones supposed to drink tequila tonight and you're bad at acting. Consider this a premonitory reward for good behavior. James is here, get up."

James knocks on their door and they meet him on the landing to take the trip down to the second floor apartment together. Kara is half way into her second rap on the door when Lena opens it and Kara has to pull back to keep from punching her in the face.

"Hi! Welcome! Come in!"

They walk through the door and Kara notices a small shelf stacked with shoes so she slips her brogues off before following James and Mon-El toward the kitchen area of the open living space. The table is piled with foil take out pans.

"Whatever that is, it smells amazing, Lena." James says as he shrugs his jacket off and drapes it over a chair.

"Well, I considered getting take out from Chendgu Gourmet," Lena replies while she turns to grab something from the counter, "but I thought tacos would go better with these." Lena turns around with a pitcher of greenish liquid in one hand and four stemmed glasses in the other. "Margaritas! Is everyone okay with salt?"

The group agrees that it's not a margarita without salt and Lena gets to work, urging the rest to start getting food while it's hot.

Everyone takes their plates of foil wrapped tacos to the coffee table on the other half of the room. Mon-El settles in the arm chair, and Kara squishes on the couch between James and Lena after she brings the bowl of tortilla chips and guacamole from the kitchen.

"Oh my God, are these from Casa Reyna? I love that place!" Kara exclaims as she unwraps her first taco, "Best carnitas in the city!"

"I know," Lena replies around a mouthful of taco, "I've been craving it ever since you brought it into the shop!"

"Aw come on! They cut it out!" Mon-El interrupts, shouting at the television that is playing through the nightly news softly across from them. Kara knows Lena usually keeps the set on as background noise when she’s alone in her apartment.

"What was that, Mike?" Kara says, staring at him staring at the TV.

"They're showing footage of that bank robbery we were at yesterday and they totally cut out me- Mon-El stopping that guy with the laser cannon."

"Who's Mon-El? Oh is that why you couldn't come yesterday, Kara? Are they letting you cover a real story!?"

James and Kara both take large gulps of their margaritas and Mon-El takes the moment.

"Mon-El is National City's new superhero! He stopped that bank robber and they didn't even show him!"

James reaches out to put a hand on Mon-El's knee, "Mike, I'm sure they just couldn't get footage of… him… stopping that guy because he had gotten so far away by the time... he… got there."

Lena turns to James and misses Mon-El's look of rage, "Oh you were there too, James?"

"Oh Jimmy goes wherever Supergirl goes."

"Well, that's his job, Mike. He's a photo-journalist." Kara has had enough, she turns back to face Lena, "The only story for me yesterday is that I ate bottomless tater tot poutine at Poutine on the Ritz, the restaurant I was reviewing, because it was right next to the bank that was robbed. And the police wouldn't let us out."

That is where Kara had been. She'd been working on her second plate of cheesy tots when the siren went off. She's not proud to admit that she changed in the bathroom and skipped on her bill. She'll make it up to them with a nice review. 

"Luckily Mike was running late to lunch so I told him what to bring you, I hope you liked that chocolate croissant." 

Actually, Mon-El was 20 minutes late responding to his signal. When he finally showed up and completely brutalized one lower level burglar, Kara super-sped to the office and then her new favorite cafe and sent him to do something actually useful while she helped clean up the rest of the crime scene.

"I'm so sorry I missed Friday delivery date! Also, I'm so sorry I can't eat tater tots for a month."

When the owners of Poutine on the Ritz had offered her free tots for life, for saving their restaurant, she couldn't take it in clear conscience.

Lena laughs and pours another round of margaritas, "Well, I'm glad Supergirl was there to save the day! And Montell!"

To diffuse another outburst from Mon-El, Kara stands up from the couch, "Well, uh, speaking of leading ladies, who are we celebrating tonight Lena?"

"It's actually a gentleman we honor tonight, let's finish these tacos and I'll make introductions!"

They clear their plates and Lena leads them to the door that separates her half of the flat. The layout is the same as the third floor; Lena's small hallway, bedroom and bathroom are stacked identically beneath Kara's. The door on the other side of the TV leads to the same area that Lillian and Mon-El share, separated by a ceiling or a floor depending on who you ask. The third room that Kara uses as her office is above what must’ve been Lex’s lair.

But Lena's space couldn't be more different than Kara's. Kara hears James gasp as they walk into the miniature jungle of Lena's quarters. The hallway is lined with shelves and stands overflowing with great green life, illuminated by the red glare of grow lamps. Kara gasps too as she realizes her powers are ever so slightly dampened. But at the same time, her senses feel like they are in overdrive. The air is humid and the smell is exotic and enticing.

Lena pops her head out of her bedroom door, "Come on, guys, he's in here!"

And the hallway is eclipsed by the tropical canopy of Lena's bedroom. The smell is even stronger in here and Kara can't help but take a deep lungfull. They are ensconced by plants: plants taller than James, broad leaves just barely sweeping against the high ceiling, and vines hanging from baskets and creeping up along the walls, flowers and trees of enough sizes to make a botanical matryoshka doll. And Lena is standing at the back wall, at the head of her bed, by a plant that if Kara didn't know better she would assume was an alien. It has flat succulent leaves of in irregular shapes and sizes, long stalks growing from the soil and from the ends and sides of leaves, small strange tendrils of roots growing haphazardly like stray whiskers, and, as Kara gets closer she sees them, the source of the intoxicating aroma. Small white flower buds, swelling randomly along some of the tallest stalks, are tantalizing Kara's nostrils like she’s Pepe LePeu. 

"This is Sirius, my night blooming cereus. He's blooming tonight. It's his first time, so I'm taking it seriously."

"After Sirius Black?" James asks.

Kara lifts her margarita glass at Lena's bashful nod to announce, "I'll drink to that! A great man and a great plant."

Lena, James, and Kara clink glasses while Mon-El empties his. 

"Do all of them have names?" Kara asks.

"Mostly! Not all of them are from Harry Potter though, and some of them I just give nicknames based on what type of plant they are. Like this Alocasia," Lena gestures to a plant with large, velvety, spade shaped leaves, "I just call Ellie because she's a kind of Elephant Ear. And that big tree by the door is called Audrey because she's a ficus Audrey"

Mon-El grumbles something and starts walking towards the door.

"Oh right, Sirius probably has a couple hours or so until he's ready. Who else needs a refill!"

They return to their seats in the living room and Lena empties the pitcher of margaritas into their glasses. Kara frowns as she watches Mon-El discreetly pour the contents of his flask into his glass and take a big swig.

"So what's the deal with the tequila, Lena?" James asks, "I think I've only ever seen you drink whiskey when you come out."

"I actually like tequila, but the stuff they have at bars is rough to sip and I feel like as asshole ordering a margarita unless I'm at a Mexican place." Lena pauses and smiles while Kara laughs. "The tequila is a kind of tradition that goes with the plant. The woman who gave me my first cutting of Sirius was a friend of my birth mother's. I went to visit her when her cereus was blooming and the first thing she did was put a shot of Patrón in my hand. We drank until the flowers bloomed. She told me that the woman she got her cutting from had the same tradition, and that she and my mother had had many bottles of tequila waiting for the flowers to open. She told me when I saw buds starting form that I had to have friends over to drink tequila and watch the magic happen."

Kara clinks her glass against Lena's, "Well, I think it's a great tradition."

"Yea," Lena replies, "It seems like the only tradition the Luthors have is being terrible, so I'm trying to make some of my own."

"Well then, why don't I make us more margaritas?" Mon-El asks, getting up from his seat and heading toward the kitchen.

"Great! Thanks, Mike! There are more limes in the basket by the fridge." Lena smiles and turns back toward Kara, "I'm so happy you guys could make it."

"What the fuck kind of plant is this!?" Mon-El suddenly shouts, holding a pot with a wilted plant drooping out of it.

"Oh god, that. I'm actually not sure. All I know is that I'm definitely going to kill it." Lena replies, frowning around her last sip.

Mon-El plops the pot on the table and takes everyones glasses to the kitchen for fresh salt and a refill. 

The plant does look sad. It looks like it could be about a foot tall if it wasn't slumped over dramatically. Its pointed leaves, alternating up around the stem forming a sort of tunnel of greenery, are tinged with brown. From the center of the tunnel a single stalk about the width of a finger sprouts, ending with the browned remains of spiky petals.

"I got about a month ago, that day when there was the eclipse, actually."

Kara winces, remembering the feeling of her elbow being shattered when her powers gave out during the blackout.

"That was the day Mon-El stopped that train hijacking!" Mike exclaims as he brings the fresh margaritas back to the table.

"Yea, and Kara hurt her arm trying to skateboard!" Lena continues, "It was Sunday, so I had the day off. I went to one of my favorite plant nurseries out in the suburbs because I needed some potting soil. I was browsing through their houseplants when totality hit. It was suddenly so dark. And then when I could see again I noticed this. It looked pretty bad then too. I always try to rescue plants that are struggling so I brought it to the counter and the owner didn't know what it was, so he gave it to me for a dollar ninety five! I brought it back here and it's just gotten sicker and sadder looking ever since."

"And you still don’t know what it is?" James asks as he picks up his margarita.

"I thought it was some kind of bromeliad because of the tank around the flower, but it isn't behaving like one at all."

"What's its name?" Kara asks.

"It doesn't have a name yet."

"Well that's the problem, Lena! It feels left out!" Kara smiles and nudges the pot so the flower is facing Lena and says, with a cartoonish voice, "Pwease give me a name, Wena, I wuv you!"

Lena blushes but James starts coughing and spluttering so Kara turns to face him.

"Holy hell, that's a strong margarita, Mike!" James croaks out before taking another sip, "It's good though."

Two hours later and James is sprawled out and snoring on the couch. He doesn't stay up past ten most nights, Kara knows, nor does he drink tequila. Mon-El is conked out in the chair next to him, probably because he chugged all that alien liquor like it was an antidote.

Kara and Lena had left them to slumber and are standing in the kitchen and chatting. Lena fixes them one last drink, an ounce of an aged tequila poured over one giant block of ice and says, "Sirius might be ready now, do you think we should wake them up?"

"Honestly? No."

They walk together back into Lena’s jungle. The flowers are still closed but they look swollen with potential and the smell has grown even more intense. Lena settles on her bed and leans back against a pillow at the headboard.

“I love the way these smell. I don’t remember my mother having one, but I can’t help but think about her now.”

Kare sits on the bed next to her.

“It’s funny. It kind of makes me think of my childhood too. We definitely didn’t have one of these but my parents did have a beautiful garden. And when I came here the Danvers were so outdoorsy, Alex, my sister, was always showing me different plants. I don’t have a green thumb at all though, I’ve killed like a million succulents.” Kara looks at her hands like they are going to throttle another plant any second, “It’s amazing what you can do.”

“Anyone can grow plants, I’m not special. I just have a lot of free time. And I’ve killed plenty too, just look at that sad thing out there." Lena gestures toward the living room where the mystery plant is wilting away on the coffee table. "I just like them. Also, succulents aren’t as easy as blogs would have you think, and half the ones at stores are dying before you even get them out the door.”

“Well, I bet you can rescue that plant. You’re a natural! I couldn’t even keep an air plant alive, Lena.”

Lena sits up and scoots toward the edge of the bed, “You can definitely learn to keep a plant alive, Kara, I’ve got the perfect one for you.” Lena reaches from the bed to a stand by the window and grabs a terracotta pot with a large plant in it. It has long green stalks that end in huge broad leaves that are all punched through with oval shaped holes. “This is a monstera. It’s so hard to kill that the one I bought my sophomore year of college has become nine separate plants. It just keeps growing. Sun and water and food, just like you. That's it. And if it looks sad just tell me and I’ll come up and give you a hand!”

Kara leans forward, “What!?”

“I want you to take this plant. It’s silly to think you can’t do it. You literally have the same exact room as me. And I’ll help you.”

“Gee, thanks, Lena.” Kara reaches out and runs her thumb and over one of the leaves, its smooth and cool to the touch. “Okay, but if I’m going to have to keep this alive you have to name that plant and try to save it.”

Lena laughs and puts Kara’s new plant back. She lays back on the bed and looks up at the ceiling. “Okay, how about if I can bring it back to life I’ll name it after you.”

Kara lays back beside her, “Aww Kara Junior!”

Lena is smiling at her and Kara can’t help but notice the way the lush foliage surrounding them brings out the green in Lena’s irises. Kara closes her eyes and imagines filling her bedroom upstairs with so much vibrant life and takes a deep breath. “Lena, I think it’s time.”

Lena holds her breath, she looks dazed. Kara thinks it’s cute she’s so excited to see some flowers. Lena shakes herself and scrambles to get upright and closer to the side of the bed and Kara sits upright next to her. And Kara gets it. 

It’s like watching fireworks in slow motion. The white buds slowly burst open. Long feathery white petals shooting out in layer after layer reveal a golden center of unbelievably potent and sweet aroma. If Kara was a moth she’d fly right into it. One after another down the vine, a chain reaction of blossoming beauty. They are such a perfect clear white color they seem to almost light up the room. It’s the sort of spectacular example of life that proves there is nothing humble about being from Earth or anywhere else in the universe. Kara clasps Lena’s hand next to hers and exhales, “Wow.”

“Holy shit, it’s almost one! Are you two done making out in here? I think we’ve gotta get James upstairs into an actual bed. Six foot five does not handle a night on the couch well.”

Lena jumps up like the bed is on fire, “Oh, Mike! Hi! Yes! Look at Sirius.” She wipes her hands on her pants and she gestures so vigorously she almost hits one of the new flowers, “He bloomed!”

Kara is glaring at Mon-El so hard she’s worried she might laser a hole through the building after she’s done vaporizing him.

“Oh, cool. We ready to go Kara?”

“Fine, I’ll meet you out there.” Kare stands up and gives Lena a hug. “Thank you so much, Lena, this was incredible.” She picks up the pot with her new plant in it. “I’ll have to have you come upstairs this week and make sure I’ve got this guy in a good spot. Oh my god I have to come up with a name!” 

Lena laughs and sits back on her bed, “Pick a good one! Good night, Kara. I’m glad you came.”

In the living room, Mon-El is holding James up with an arm slung around James’ broad back, “Man, for a big guy he can’t handle his space booze at all. Ugh, are you a plant lady now too?”

Kara opens the door and pushes Mon-El out while she pulls her shoes back on, “What the heck, you drugged him!? What is wrong with you!”

“I was bugging the place! Pretty clever right?”

Kara is speechless. She flies up the stairs with her new plant and closes her bedroom door behind her. She puts the pot by her window, directly above where it had been downstairs, turning it so the leaves will face the sun in the morning. She can hear Mon-El struggling to lay James down on their spare futon in the office, but she tunes him out. She falls asleep focusing on the perfume wafting from the room below. She has a dream that she’s a hummingbird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Grow For Me!


	3. Grow For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena stumbles onto a new method of plant care.
> 
> Or; a small plant becomes a big plant, and some big changes come with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm beggin' you sweetly  
I'm down on my knees  
Oh, please grow for me!

Lena wakes up on Sunday morning wishing she had time to indulge in the memory of laying next Kara. The sun is up and the blossoms that had perfumed her dreams have wilted. The only thing proving the entire night hadn’t been an elaborate fantasy is the taste of tequila adding a pungent tang to her morning breath and the absence of a few green leaves at the foot of her bed. Lena wonders where Kara put her new plant, but when she smiles at the thought a headache races from her temple down to her clavicle. She's hungover. But more importantly, she has a mission. Lena has an apartment to clean before Lillian returns. 

She brushes her teeth and takes four ibuprofen before doing her best impression of a whirlwind around the kitchen and living room. The coffee pot is on. The recycling is taken out. The leftovers are picked through and sorted into fridge-worthy and trash. The dishes are washed. The table is wiped. 

As Lena starts to vacuum in front of the tv, gritting her teeth and cringing at the loud whir of tortilla chip crumbs being sucked out of the carpet, she sees the sad little mystery plant. It’s draped dramatically over the edge of its pot, leaning like a sad college girl too drunk to keep her head off the bar table. Lena remembers her promise. She happily turns off the vacuum and scoops up the little plant in its little pot.

"Come on, Kara Junior, we're going to figure out what you need." She whispers as she takes a step toward her bedroom. And then she drops the plant.

"Ow FUCK! What the fuck! Shit damnit!"

Apparently James had knocked over his margarita glass in his stumbling from the couch, if the puddle of blood forming around Lena's foot is any evidence. She hops to the bathroom to bandage the slice on her arch.

"Stupid fucking boys can't handle their stupid fucking tequila."

She gingerly returns to survey the carnage. Sure enough, a toppled glass lies on the hardwood next to couch, the rim is cracked and a few errant shards poke out of the puddle of blood like shark fins. Next to them is the plant, its soil has spilled and it is face down in the mess.

"Ah crap," Lena picks up the plant, pushing the gorey soil back into the pot, and brings it into her bathroom where she sets it on the floor of her shower. "I'll be right back."

Lena limps back to the living room and sweeps the broken glass into one of the paper take out bags from last night. She mops up the blood, happy that none of it seems to have permeated the rug a few inches away.  
Lena decides she’s cleaned enough after that. She goes back into her bedroom and silently apologizes to the plants as she draws her curtains to block out the sun for a couple more hours. She pulls her phone from under her pillow and squints at the screen. 

9:47 am Lena: I’d like to invite you to the funeral of Kara Junior, a.k.a. KJ, we hardly knew her :’(  
9:47 am Kara: NOOOOOOOOO MY BABY  
9:48 am Kara: Jk but I just checked on Baby Lena, a.k.a. Beans, and no plant murderers struck the third floor in the night  
9:50 am Lena: It was me - I’m an unfit mother  
9:51 am Lena: 30% drunk, 70% hungover, 100% dropped our plant baby into a pile of broken glass (but also wtf who knew James was such a lightweight!)  
9:55 am Kara: Oh no! Do you need help cleaning? I’m sorry I inflicted those dummies on you!! I’ll be right down to help!!!!!

Before Lena can respond she hears Kara knocking on her door. She limps out to open it and smiles when Kara holds up a grocery bag with all the fixings for about a dozen bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches.

“It’s the only known cure for hangovers above 50%”

Lena laughs through the headache and turns to go to the kitchen to put a pan on the stove but Kara stops her with a hand on her arm.

“Lena, you’re bleeding!” Kara points to a bloody footprint on the floor and puts her shoulder under Lena’s arm to help her walk to one of the kitchen chairs. “Sit down, I can’t lose you and KJ on the same day! My heart couldn’t take it!” 

Kara drops the groceries on the kitchen table and kneels to hold and inspect Lena’s foot. “Well, you did a crappy job bandaging this up, but I don’t think you need stitches. I’ll be right back!” She runs out the door and returns what seems like only a few moments later with steri-strips, gauze, an ace bandage, and a plain white sock. Kara wipes Lena’s foot with a damp paper towel and dries it. She closes the wound with steri-strips, tapes gauze over it to pad and protect it, wraps Lena’s foot and ankle with the ace bandage and finally, gently slips the sock over the whole neat package.

Lena hasn’t said a word, she can only gaze down at Kara with her mouth open.

Kara looks up from her work with a smile, “Okay, hopefully we won’t have to amputate.” That breaks Lena’s haze and makes her laugh, “Go sit on the couch and I’ll make breakfast to restore your liver.”

“Okay, yea, I’m actually starving now.”

Between the two of them, four bagels, eight eggs, a package of bacon and probably a half pound of cheddar cheese disappear. Lena is responsible for a quarter of that, and stifles her giggle every time the oozy yolk of one of Kara’s fried eggs chooses a new and unexpected direction to explode. They watch an episode of Great British Baking Show while they eat and Lena feels cozy and content. After the star baker is announced, Kara’s phone rings.

“Oh shoot, I have to go. I’ll see you later, Lena.” she says, looking at her phone but not answering it, and gets up.

“Oh, okay!” Lena stays on the couch but holds her arms out reflexively to hug her friend. 

Kara leans down into the hug and whispers, “You can keep the sock.”

Lena laughs and watches her friend bolt out the door.

She makes it halfway through another episode of Bake Off before her stomach grumbles. Lena’s surprised at her appetite, typically she barely eats breakfast, and has often worked straight through lunch to Kara’s shock and dismay. She chalks her hunger up to the hangover as she warms up two leftover al pastor tacos.

As Lena savors the first bite of spicy shredded pork and pineapple, she finds herself walking into the bathroom. She needs to clean that dead plant out of there, it’s the last thing to do before Lillian gets home. Lena almost drops her plate of food when she pulls back the curtain. The plant is looking back at her! 

Well, at least it’s perked up a bit. The plant is standing taller than it had in weeks, not quite straight up yet, but definitely not the dramatic slump of this morning. Its leaves look firmer, their grey palor receding back into a vibrant green. Even its flower looks miraculously rejuvenated, rich red spiky petals atop a plump green stalk.

Lena sets down her plate and takes a picture with her phone to send to Kara.

Lena 12:21am: Did you switcharoo KJ? Or did a miracle happen!?

She picks up her plate and picks up the plant and heads into her room. She sets the plant at the foot of her bed, where the one she had given Kara used to live, and lies across the top of her quilt to inspect it, picking at her last taco. Her stomach feels full but she still has a craving for more food.

When Lena hears the front door open, she doesn’t think about it. She drops the last morsel of pork into the tunnel of leaves in front of her and walks out to greet her mother with the clean plate.

Lillian is dropping her bag at the table and looking around the room when Lena comes out. She’s dressed as formally as ever and cannot contain her disdain for Lena’s sweatpants.

“God, Lena, I hope you wash your sheets today. Were you really just holed up in that cave all weekend? Lex would kill to have the freedom you have, and here you are just lazing around until noon.” 

Lena bites back a comment about Lex having already killed and instead walks to the sink to wash her plate. But she surprises herself when she does respond, “I had some friends over last night, actually.”

“No wonder this place is such a mess!” Lillian says, looking around the truly spotless living room. “I wonder if you father would’ve been able to live like this. Or would he have had the decency to off himself when he saw that this would be the consequences of his actions.”

Lena can feel Lillian’s pointed look, she knows that for all of Lillian’s blustering about bookkeeping and financial misdeeds, that Lionel’s greatest crime in her heart would always be the unfaithfulness that created Lena. Luckily, a response from Kara buzzes through on her phone just in time to act as a shield against Lillian’s shaming.

Kara 12:30 pm: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A BABY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lena has to keep herself from laughing, she decides to be like Kara and keep it positive. She sits at the table, holding her phone and typing to Kara while indulging Lillian, “How is Lex doing?”

Lena 12:31 pm: TLC’s I Didn’t Know I Was Going to be a Plant Mom

Lillian is pacing around the apartment, shuttling things from her suitcase into their rightful spots, and positively beaming as she gives the update to Lena’s unattentive ears. “He’s wonderful! Really we are in high spirits. This new judge is very sympathetic, of course…”

Kara 12:32 pm: TLC’s Lena Plus 8(0 Plants)  
Lena 12:32 pm: Oh no, do I have to cut my hair!?  
Kara 12:34 pm: Definitely not.

Lena is grinning from ear to ear and nodding along to Lillian’s rambling. She even catches herself letting out a laugh when Lillian emits a shocking giggle. 

“I know! So lucky to have such a like-minded cell-mate! And he’ll be getting out soon. Lex asked me to help him out a little when he’s released, so naturally I couldn’t say no!”

Lena 12:36pm : You don’t think I could pull off a call-the-manager side bang?  
Kara 12:36pm: You can pull off anything, but i like your hair now  
Kara 12:38pm: You can redefine Plant mom hair!  
Kara 12:38pm: Is all I’m saying!  
Kara 12:38pm: Break the cycle!

Lena is full-on blushing, she feels hot. Weirdly, she feels hungry again. She jumps up from her seat at the table. Lillian is looking at her.

“I’m so glad to hear all of this!” Lena covers, “We should celebrate tonight! I’ll go take a shower and get cleaned up.”

Lillian smiles at that, looking at Lena with startling fondness and finally stowing away her luggage in the small coat closet, “You’re absolutely right!”

Lena closes the door to her hallway. In her room, she admires her own hair in the mirror as she slips out of her clothes. She undresses her bandaged foot and absentmindedly drops the small wad of bloody gauze into the fragrant opening around Kara Junior’s flower. She doesn’t notice if she’s limping on her way into the shower because it feels like she’s floating on air.

\----

An alarm goes off at 7:00 but Lena doesn’t hear it. She’s resetting the mouse traps in the back room of the shop. She’d never noticed a mouse problem before, but ever since she brought Kara Junior down here to live permanently she’s been waking up to set the traps. 

Maybe Lillian’s been leaving the door open after her flower arranging classes, Lena thinks to herself as she casually disposes of a severed mouse tail in the wide chasm of Kara Juniors stem. 

Kara Junior is about four feet tall now, and lives on a low stand in the corner of the back room. Lena had been bringing it downstairs so often to inspect and care for it during its recovery that she wound up deciding to just keep it there. Its exotic beauty and enchanting scent were such that even Lillian accepted its presence in the shop. 

Lena does hear it when the door of the shop opens, and goes out to greet Kara. 

Kara, who has been bringing coffee each morning to Lena before her daily sprint to the bus, is beaming. She puts the mug of coffee down on the counter alongside a thoroughly buttered bagel and throws her hands in the air.

“Happy first article day! My little free lance genius! I’ll bring the copies later with lunch!”

Lena can’t help but smile back. 

It had been Kara’s idea to start the plant advice column, “Plants are a thing now! And the internet is too much information for dummies like me. You’d be great at it!” And now Lena was going to be published in Catco Weekly. 

Originally, Lena had wanted to write under a pseudonym, like a Dear Abby for botanical etiquette. She had been afraid to put the Luthor name back in any newspaper, even with the most harmless content imaginable, but both Kara and Lillian had insisted she be public. Kara wanted recognition for Lena, something for her to publicly take pride in, and also had quietly told Lena she’d look cute with her photo in the byline. Lillian was simply profit driven; they wouldn’t have to buy advertising in the paper anymore, in fact Lena would be getting paid a little instead. And so, today ‘Dear Plant Lady’ was hitting newsstands across National City.

Lena grins as she reaches for the bagel but Kara stops her, pulling a bandaid from her purse.

“Again Lena? You need to get better at your knife throwing technique, or whatever is slicing up your fingers. You’ll need those to type up next week’s article!” Kara says as she hastily bandages a finger that Lena hadn’t even realized was bleeding.

“Oh jeeze, thanks Kara. I must be getting pinched in the mousetraps in the back or something.”

“I think you just like it when I take care of you.” Kara winks, “Anyway, I’ll see you at lunch!” and she’s out the door before Lena’s blush can fully bloom.

Things have changed between them since the tequila night, and ensuing morning. It started with the texts about plant care. When the monstera the Lena gave her finally popped a new leaf, Kara picked Lena up and spun her around like they were swing dancing. There have been 4 more leaves since then, each with an over the top celebration. Another taco night, some take out potstickers and a bottle of champagne, cupcakes with little frosting succulents piped on top, and, most recently, a spa night with Korean face masks and painting each others nails. In between all of that, their occasional coffee or lunch dates had turned into daily morning coffee and frequent lunches.

Lena almost feels like Kara is flirting with her, but knows that must be wishful thinking. She’s heard Mike loafing around on the third floor, playing video games and microwaving stuff, and has heard Kara having stern words with him too. Lena’s happy that Kara is investing more in her friendship with her, and won’t ever admit that she’s happy that it may be because her relationship with Mike is deteriorating.

\---

Lena is helping customers when Kara drops off the stack of Catco Weeklys that contains Lena’s fourth article. The column had been a success from week one and the shop had never been busier. Lena doesn’t have time to talk to her but smiles at her and waves before Kara ducks back out of the store.

Lillian is ecstatic about the business. Between their increased sales, the small commission Lena gets from the paper, and the classes that Lillian has been teaching at night in the shop they are thriving. Lena has never seen her mother so engaged. She smiles and talks with her hands. She goes out in the evenings and finally told Lena that she’s volunteering with a halfway house. She had started stocking another paper in the front of the shop and encourages Lena to read it, she invites Lena to her classes at night.

Lena doesn’t know what to do with all of the maternal affection. She’d gotten used to going without. She’s happy, but wary, smiling with Lillian but sticking to their established routines. 

Mostly, Lena is exhausted. She feels like her days are a series of skits: empty mouse traps, coffee with Kara, sell some bouquets, lunch with Kara, a quick trip to the pet store to get lunch for Kara Junior. At night, she usually works on her column.

One night, Lena finds herself in the alley behind the shop looking right at Lillian’s face. It has to be close to midnight and both of the Luthor women are startled to be face to face. 

“Sweety! Would you like to join in the … class? We were just discussing methods for protecting your garden from invasive species.” Lillian says, from the threshold of the shop’s rear entrance.

“What? Oh, no. I was just. Out.” Lena clutches her hand to her stomach as it gurgles with hunger, “I’m going to run to the convenience store for a little late night snack? Do you guys need anything?”

Lillian declines and walks back into the shop. Lena can see a group of men in there around the low work table. They are large, but not as large as Kara Junior, who had officially passed six feet tall earlier in the week. Lena’s stomach churns again and she heads back up to her apartment.

The next morning Lena wakes up and notices that the leaves of her elephant ear plant are yellowing. Upon closer inspection, she sees tiny period sized critters scurrying around, devouring its foliage microgram by microgram. A web stretches from stem to stem and teeny tiny eggs litter the back.

“Fuck! Mites! How did this happen!” Lena looks around her room. Her fiddle leaf fig is drooping. As are her prayer plants and crotons. Even some of her succulents look a little in need of watering. Her orchids have long since lost flowers, their stalks are wilted. 

Some fucking plant genius I am, she thinks to her self as she runs through a quick care routine. Soil is checked and watered, dead material is trimmed, and neem oil is sprayed. The elephant ear, being finicky in general, seems to have been the canary in the coal mine and needs the most urgent attention. She scoops it up and brings it down to the work table in the back of the shop.

She mixes up a solution of dish soap and water and assembles some dry rags. As she takes to gently cleaning the chewed up leaves in front of her, she senses a headache creeping up. She’s hungry, as she often is these days, but this is new. It feels like someone is knocking on the door of her mind. She pauses to rub her eyes and then resumes wiping away the evidence of her neglect from the leaves of the elephant ear plant. The pressure between her ears escalates until it snaps, and then she hears it, or feels like she hears it, it’s there, but it’s only in there, in her head that is. A voice. Demanding.

“Feed me, Lena.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next - Somewhere That's Green


	4. Somewhere That's Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara does the Marie Kondo method.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A picture out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine  
Far from Skid Row  
I dream we'll go  
Somewhere that's green.

Kara is impressed with how well Lena is keeping up. She’s used to eating about three times more than her friend when they hang out, but right now Lena is matching her bite for bite. Their chopsticks are making the mountain of homemade sushi between them disappear. 

Baby Lena, the plant, had finally unfurled her sixth new leaf, larger and more astonishingly fenestrated than any of the previous ones, so they are celebrating. Kara has a restaurant sized rice cooker since she’s accustomed to eating a 5 pound bag of rice in a day or two, and had invited Lena up to show off her maki-rolling skills. They split a bottle of sake and sliced up their fillings while the rice was steaming. Lena had brought a bag of perfectly ripe avocados, a treat that Kara doesn’t have often because she’s too afraid to squeeze them in the supermarket. She deftly pared them into perfect slices while Kara made quick (but not too quick) work of the carrots, cucumbers, tofu, crab meat, and tuna that she had personally flown in from Tokyo. 

Now they are hunkered down on Kara’s couch, carefully dismantling their sushi castle, drinking bottles of Minoh W-IPA (also imported by the Supergirl Express), and watching Kiki’s Delivery Service.

“You know,” Lena starts around a bite of food, getting Kara’s attention before she swallows, “When I was a kid I just thought this movie was about like, magic and flying and a cute talking cat, but watching it now it’s so much more melancholy. It’s great though! So good actually.” She says to reassure Kara’s brief sad look, “It’s just, it’s kind of really about burn out and growing up too fast isn’t it? Poor Kiki. She takes her passion and turns it into a chore and it sucks her will to live.” She picks up another piece of sushi with her chopsticks, “Sorry, it’s just really hitting me, this movie is great and Miyazaki is a genius.”

“Yea, but it’s also about how to conquer all that by making friends with kids with cool bikes and sweet old ladies. And eating lots of bread!” Kara bumps a piece of sushi against the piece Lena is holding in a ‘cheers’ motion.

“That’s true!” Lena laughs, “And valuing the wisdom of hermit cottage lesbians like Ursula. Who is honestly living my dream life I think. Just chilling in the woods and drawing pictures of plants and birds.”

“Trust in you spirit!” Kara quotes, making Lena role her eyes as she sips at her bottle of beer. “Start wearing those cut-off shorts like you always wanted!” and Lena has to put her hand over her mouth to keep from spitting out her drink.

Kara can tell that Lena has been feeling off. She seems tired. She is still as beautiful as ever, but she looks paler and less healthy lately. Kara will do anything to help her perk up, so she’s been trying to be as good a friend as possible. She makes sure to see Lena every day, and make it count with a cup of coffee or a good joke. One of her favorite human idioms has always been ‘Laughter is the best medicine’ but now she’s starting to wonder if Alex or her wife, Kelly, and their medical degrees might be more useful. She’s worried about her friend.

“Mostly I wish I could fly, though.” Lena says, watching Kiki launch into the air on the screen.

“Yea, it’s nice.” Kara says, polishing off the last california roll before she realizes what she said, “... I bet it’s nice, I mean. Although airplanes are pretty cool. And helicopters.”

Lena didn’t notice anything, she’s wrapped up in the movie, she nods along to Kara’s words. Kara is pleased that she’s getting better at covering up her super-powered ways. As the movie ends, they get start to get untangled from the blanket they were sharing.

“I can’t believe we ate all that sushi! Is Mike going to be mad that we didn’t leave him any leftovers?” Lena says, casually rubbing at her stomach, “I’ve been so hungry lately, I think you’re rubbing off on me.”

“Whatever, food is delicious and amazing. And it’s not like Mike ever saves any for me anyway. I’d rather eat with you, you’re voracious but polite about it. He uses chopsticks like little spears even though I know he knows better!” Kara gestures with her chopsticks as if she’s skewering Mon-El on a lance in front of her. He’s been driving her nuts lately. She made J’onn call him in for overnight duty at the DEO tonight to get him out of her hair. 

“Is he at work tonight? Or did you ship him off to boyfriend finishing school?”

Pulling herself out of a snuggle daze, Kara decides she’s ready to be a little more truthful with Lena, “Yeah, he’s at work. And to be honest, he’s not my boyfriend… anymore.” Kara admits, watching Lena’s face go through a rapid shuffle of expressions. “Uh. He was for a bit but we have more of a brother sister relationship now.” Kara can feel Lena looking at her and silently asking for more information. She doesn’t know what to do with herself so she folds up the blanket and drapes it over the couch. “But sometimes living with family is hard.”

Lena laughs in acknowledgment, “I hear that.”

“Yeah, I love him like family, meaning I don’t particularly like him right now but I still have to take care of him. And rent is rent, I guess, and he does help with that.”

The credits end and Lena helps Kara clear the table. 

“Sorry I didn’t ask how things were going.” Lena says as she rinses dishes for Kara to put into the dishwasher, “I’ve been so tired and out of it lately and you’ve been taking care of me and him. Thank you.” 

“It’s alright!” Kara replies, not wanting Lena to feel sorry, “I have a lot of love to give!”

Lena is flushed as she turns off the tap. Kara wonders if she feels okay, Alex has told her that eating too much food can make humans feel sick.

“That reminds me,” Lena finally blurts out, “I have something to give you.”

Suddenly, Kara feels herself blush. Is it contagious? Her face feels hot as she looks at Lena. But then Lena walks away, toward the front door of the apartment and comes back with a large cardboard box. 

It looks light, by the way she is carrying it, despite its size. The top isn’t sealed, only folded over.

“Open it!”

Kara feels giddy all over as she reaches for the box. Inside are three small plants. One looks like a small tree with fat leaves that make Kara think of gushers, one has long vines of green heart shaped leaves, and the third is simply a thick irregular leaf poking out of a pot of soil like an iceberg.

“Oh my gosh! Lena!” She pulls Lena into a powerful hug.

“You’ve proven yourself worthy!” Lena gasps out as Kara releases her, “There’s a jade tree, a philodendron, and the little one is a leaf that I clipped off of Sirius! Maybe in a few years we can have a tequila party up here.” Kara furrows her brow and Lena quickly adds, “Don’t worry. These are all pretty tough plants, but I wrote out some instructions for you too.”

“Lena, this is amazing! Thank you!”

“Of course. I’m just trying to get invited to more leaf parties, anyway.” Lena smiles, “I’ve gotta head out though, I’m beat. Goodnight, Kara! Thanks for the sushi lesson!” They hug again and Lena walks back downstairs.

Kara watches Lena through the floor as she opens her door and walks to the kitchen directly below and pours herself a glass of water to bring to bed. Kara tenderly picks up the new pots and brings them into her own bedroom to deliberate about where they will go.

\---- 

James is standing all the way against the wall holding his camera tight to his face, “Kara, I know the plant is amazing, but I can’t get the whole thing in frame and also have Lena’s face be discernible on the page.” The shutter clicks. “It does look cool though. As a backdrop for a portrait. Which is what this is.”

“Ugh! Fine, James, I just want the readers to have evidence of Lena’s epic green thumb.”

“I think the column speaks for itself. But we can include some macro shots and maybe the caption under the photo can describe what it is.” He looks down at the screen on his DSLR and nods approval, “If we keep it mysterious, people will want to come here to look at it too. You look great in these, by the way, Lena.”

Lena is standing in front of the plant, she’d taken all of James’ direction well and now it’s Kara’s turn to interview her. The Plant Lady column had gone gangbusters and the paper was inundated with letters to and about Lena. Mostly there were gardening and houseplant advice letters, although the occasional letter about Lex and Lionel did filter through. Kara was starting to get opportunities to write more than just food reviews and had pitched writing a bio on Lena. It would be a ‘where are they now’ for a minor National City celebrity and a ‘tell me about her’ for fans of the column. The editor, Cat, liked the idea because it was relatively low-stakes but still had an exclusive and possibly controversial vibe. 

“Yes! Winn is going to want those for the Catco Instragram, James.” Kara says, looking from the photo of Lena up to the real thing. “Okay, Lena, are you ready for your interview?”

Lena jerks her head up to look at Kara and smiles, “Oh, yes, Kara.”

Kara had noticed that Lena seemed a little out of it, she thinks she must be nervous, “It’ll be okay, I won’t write anything mean about you.” Kara smiles reassuringly, “Let’s take a seat. I got this new little recorder that I want to try out!”

Kara doesn’t need the recorder, she has over 95% conversation recall, but she loves accessories. If Supergirl gets to have a full outfit with all the gadgets then so does Reporter Girl. Plus, she’s hoping to get up to some Home Alone style hijinks with it later. 

Lena moves to one of the stools at the work table across from Kara. She looks back at the plant quickly where James is standing and taking close up shots of the tendrils of roots erupting from its soil, the patterns and textures along its swirling leaves, and the truly spectacular array of its red petals exploding from the flower that has hit the ceiling and curved back down at them like the overhead light above a dentist’s chair. The trunk of the plant is broader than James’ linebacker shoulders and each curling leaf could be at least 12 feet long now if they were to be laid out flat. The stem supporting the flower might as well be a warp pipe from Mario, the lustrous green trunk is thick and substantial.

“Well, let’s start with that!” Kara says, beaming, “Kara Junior! I won’t call it that in the paper though. Have you found out what it is yet? And what is your secret for caring for such an exotic species?”

Lena fidgets in her seat a little before dragging her eyes back to look at Kara, “I’m still not sure what it is actually. I’ve been trying to research and get in touch with some tropical plant experts. I have no idea how it wound up in National City, but it certainly appreciates the warm climate here. As far as care,” Lena pauses and swallows, “This is embarassing to admit, but it’s really all just trial and error. You change one variable at a time. Light, water, and nutrients. It turns out that this plant actually likes less light but has very specific nutrient requirements. That’s what makes me think that perhaps it is native to rainforests.”

“I’m sure our readers will appreciate the honesty. So many people think that plant care is like a sixth sense that you either have or don’t, but it’s really a scientific process isn’t it?”

“Absolutely, I think anyone can grow plants, it’s just a matter of selecting plants that will tolerate your environment. If you don’t have lots of windows, you probably shouldn’t buy something that needs a lot of light, like most succulents. A better fit might be a pothos or a zz plant. And be careful about overwatering. Don’t be afraid to stick your finger into the dirt and check the moisture, that’s what gardening is all about!” Lena gestures with a finger and Kara appreciates that even though Lena practices hands on gardening, she also practices good hygiene. Her nails are clean and clipped short.

Kara can tell Lena is warming up. It’s cute seeing her so excited to talk. 

“Don’t touch!” Lena suddenly calls out to James, who jumps back from surprise, “Um. I just treated it with some pretty intense insecticide and fungicide.” James backs away and Kara nods along in understanding, gesturing for Lena to continue. “Keeping an enormous tropical plant also means you have to be diligent about plant hygiene. For big plants you might have to clean each leaf individually if they get dusty or infested. Smaller plants I actually just bring into the shower sometimes for a quick hose off.”

“Great! Okay, people can wait for your next column for more plant tips. Let’s learn about you. How did you develop this passion?”

“Is it ridiculous if I say the movie Fern Gulley? It made me want to live in a magical jungle when I was a kid. And it also made me very scared of heavy machinery for a while.”

Kara laughs and Lena continues.

“I went to school to try to study botany and environmental sciences, I had some plants then but when I had to withdraw I found that focusing on learning about these plants and creating a green space here in downtown was really good for me. Plus, my mother had started the flower shop before everything, so I was regularly going to plant nurseries anyway.”

Kara doesn’t want to, but she knows she has to. “So you were in the plant shop when your brother, Lex, committed one of the worst crimes in National City history. His anti alien attack on this neighborhood just over two years ago is still affecting this community. Do you have anything to say about that day?”

“It was the worst day of my life.” Lena looks down into her lap, “I had been so wrapped up in dealing with the fallout of my father’s crimes that I hadn’t been paying attention to Lex. I was mad at them for cheating me out of my education. We had been best friends when we were kids but obviously we grew apart. He worked uptown and I felt stuck here. I had no idea what he had planned. At first, when he started shooting, I didn’t realize it was him. I just opened the shop to bring people inside from the sidewalk. I called 911. I thought he was going to kill me.” Lena looks up, trying to hold back tears. “I lost my brother that day. I haven’t visited him. I don’t know who he is anymore and I want to thank Supergirl and the NCPD for capturing him and preventing him from doing anymore harm than he did. Hearing him spew his hate on the stand was enough evidence for me to know that he should be locked away for life.”

Kara reaches across the table to clasp Lena’s hand.

_____

Kara is trying to keep Lena’s coffee balanced on top of this week’s stack of Catco Weeklys, but there are so many people in the shop it’s hard to maneuver. Lillian is behind the register with dollar signs in her eyes as people jostle to appraise their selection of flowers while they wait their turn to get into the back room. Kara gets the papers onto their rack and dives through the crowd using 10% more force than she usually would to get back to Lena.

The shop had been packed since the article came out. People wanted to see the plant and people wanted to see Lena. Winn wouldn’t shut up about the comments her pictures were getting on Catco’s social media. Kara didn’t like that thirsty had another definition now. She felt wary of all the extra attention that was being directed at her best friend. Lena had already been running on empty lately, and Kara was worried that the extra attention and pressure might wear her out further. She felt guilty for not taking better care of her and waiting to publish the article until a better time.

Lena is standing at the back, by the rope barricade they had hastily put up when people started coming in to see Kara Junior. The room is full. An informal honor system had developed to keep it below crushing capacity. People were filtering in and out in turn to respect the enormous plant and shelves full of breakable pots and spillable plant care materials. Lena’s smiling and talking to a woman. Kara doesn’t know her, the woman who has her hand casually wrapped around Lena’s forearm and is making Lena smile. Kara takes one regular step and two super steps and puts the coffee in Lena’s hand.

“Wow, Lena! What a showing! Who’s this?” Kara pants out, looking at the woman. 

“Oh! Thanks, Kara. This is my old friend, Andrea. We went to school together.” Lena wraps her arm over Andrea’s shoulder, “Andrea, this is my good friend, Kara! She’s the one the plant is named after!”

Kara feels her shoulders relax. 

Andrea gives Lena a look that Kara doesn’t get, some inside joke, before saying, “You wrote a wonderful article about Lena here. We lost touch after, well, everything. It was so nice to see her face smiling in a newspaper for once. Thanks for doing her justice.”

Before Kara can respond, a commotion starts in the front room. 

“Where is she!? Where’s that fucking bitch traitor?” 

A large man bursts into the back room and points a gun at Lena.

“You’re a disgrace to humanity. Alien fucking cunt!”

Kara doesn’t know what to do. The room is too crowded to dash out and change into her Supergirl uniform. She steps in front of Lena and hits her communication device to at least alert the DEO before putting her hands up. Maybe J’onn or even Mon-El can make it down here to stop the man before something bad happens, she thinks. But suddenly Lillian is there, standing in front of the man, putting her hand on his gun. 

“Now stop that.” She says, quietly enough to bring the volume of the room down, “I’ve seen where this kind of thoughtless violence can take someone. My son, Lex, is in prison for doing something foolish like you. You won’t change the world here.”

The man looks confused, but drops the gun back into his holster. Lena looks even more confused. Kara doesn’t move, but she gets a buzz in her ear that J’onn is outside and will come in at a moments notice.

Lillian moves closer to the man. She puts her hand on his arm and continues, “I know a lot of people who used to think like you. I’m trying to help them reorganize their lives. Why don’t you come by tonight. I have a class that I think will help you concentrate on what really matters. The natural beauty of Earth.”

Kara doesn’t even think before she turns to pull Lena into a tight embrace. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m okay.” Lena hugs her back and breathes against her collarbone.

_____

“Where were you today when you got the alarm, Mon-El?” J’onn, as director of the Department of Extranormal Operations, is asking the question out loud out of courtesy. He could easily pry the answer from his subordinate’s mind with telepathy but prefers not to. “Do you understand that you have a less than 30% response rate? How are we supposed to count on you as a member of this team if you do not respond as one? And from an organizational point of view, we are a small unit and we cannot afford to waste our budget on non-functioning agents.”

“I was investigating!” Mon-El answers. He is seated at a table in a room with mirrored walls. The room used to be the interrogation room at one of the downsized National City Police Department precincts. With the clever use of a lot of lead and some imported alien technology the DEO had been able to put it back into use.

“We didn’t assign you to any investigations.” Alex asserts, arms akimbo and fingers playing at her holster. She’s standing beside J’onn and Kara can tell her sister is furious but is trying to keep it professional while she’s still on Assistant Director duty.

“I was doing my own investigation.” Mon-El briefly shrinks under Alex’s glare, but firms up again to make his assertion. 

“What?” Kara is barely holding in her anger, “Could you possibly be investigating at 1:00 pm on a Friday afternoon? The case of the missing playstation controller?” 

“No! I think I’ve found something big!” Mon-El has crossed his arms. He has a smug look on his face, “Have you ever heard of a group called Cadmus?” he asks.

Kara, Alex and J’onn all respond in the negative.

“I’ve heard chatter.” He shifts his eyes around the room, “They’re a top secret anti-alien group. They want to kill Supergirl. I’m trying to find out more. I think the Luthors are involved for sure though.” 

And Kara is officially done. 

“Lillian Luthor was the one who saved the day today, you moron! While you were out ‘detecting’ off under a magnifying glass like Sherlock Douche, a Luthor STOPPED an anti-alien attack! And Lena was the target! She’s fine and it’s no thanks to you!” Kara takes a breath when she realizes she’s wrenched one of the DEO swivel chairs in half with her hands, “Rao! You’re unbelievable!”

“She’s right, Mon-El.” J’onn interjects to deescalate Kara’s rage, “I’m sorry, but we are going to have to put you on a temporary suspension, pending your behavior. You may turn in any evidence you wish to begin a formal investigation and if we deem at the end of your leave that you have earned your position in this organization, you may restart the case under the formal DEO procedure. Please relinquish your comms to Assistant Director Danvers. Agent Wilson will escort you out of the premises.”

\------

“Sherlock Douche was pretty excellent.” Alex clinks her wine glass against Kara’s, “I’ll talk to J’onn about the apartment. The budget is tight but maybe if Mon-El winds up getting the official boot we can take his salary and swing some for your rent.”

Kara is in her pajamas on Alex’s couch. She’d flown back to the apartment to check on Lena, she was okay, she just wanted to have a night in and go to bed early. Kara watered her plants and flew right back to Alex’s to avoid Mon-El. 

They were alone for the night. Alex’s wife, Kelly knew that the sisters had a long tradition of decompressing together, so she’d gone out to catch a photography show and get dinner with James, her brother. 

Two pizzas and two bottles of wine had disappeared already, as was tradition when Kara was in need of sisterly advice. Now they were on to the third bottle of wine and ice cream portion of the evening. Kara had been laying everything out, hoping Alex could help her organize her scattered mind.

“Yea, I’d like to stay there.” Kara says wistfully, “I like the neighborhood and I like the apartment. It has nice windows. My plants like it there. Did I tell you Lena got me some more plants?” 

Alex nods, “Yes, you told me. You two have quite the brood of plant babies now.”

“Yea.” Kara mumbles around a mouthful of pistachio ice cream, “I don’t want to leave downtown. I know all the best takeout places there. My bed is there, my TV is there, I finally started getting all of my mail there!”

Alex gives her a knowing look before pushing “And Lena is there.”

With four words, Alex had done it. The venn diagram in Kara’s mind reorganized; things Kara likes about her present life and things Kara wants in the future and in the center, in bold type, a name. The name that would undoubtedly be the core of a word cloud of her conversation with Alex tonight. On a bar graph of names that Kara thinks about, it’s the tallest. The biggest, most wonderful slice of pie. 

“Yea, and Lena is there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: FEED ME


	5. Feed Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A clandestine encounter on a dark and gritty night puts detective Mon-El on the case.
> 
> or, as I called it in my outline, "dumb guy noir"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Show a little initiative, boy,  
Work up some guts,  
And you'll get it.

It’s a rainy night in National City and Al’s Bar is slow but steady. Of all the gin joints in all the town, this is Mon-El’s favorite. Folks around here call him Mike, or Dick. He calls for another drink.

“You’re not allowed to smoke in here, dick.” The broad behind the bar flirts, six webbed fingers gripping the long, sweaty bottle of space hooch.

A man’s not allowed to do anything on this planet. He stubs out his cigarette and tucks the loosey back into the breast pocket of his jacket. He searches “detective jobs” on Craigslist but the closest gig is in Gotham.

He stares at his notebook where he’s written the names “Luthor” and “Cadmus”. There’s a connection there, but nothing’s adding up. If those two bit jamokes at the DEO hadn’t kicked him to the curb he wouldn’t be too drunk to piece it together right now. Not to mention Kara. She tossed him like a frisbee. She was too busy mooning over that Luthor chick to recognize what he had to give. Was she playing for the other team? She hadn’t picked him, that’s for sure. Rejected. This town is too small for two people from the same galaxy to live in the same apartment and work for the same small government agency. 

The bartender covers her ears and shakes her head. Telepaths make great bartenders up to a point.

“Kara!” He’s in the alley. It’s too wet to light up a smoke but not too wet to make a point on an ex’s voicemail. “You’re wrong about the Luthors and you’re wrong about me! Not that you care! I’m done with this shit hole. I’m moving to Gotham. G-Town, baby! Gonna go fuck shit up with Batman. You’ll see. Have fun with your bad guy girlfriend!”

He hangs up the phone in triumph and turns to go back into the bar. His intuition stops him. There’s someone there. In the shadows by the dumpster. He’s seen enough movies set in Gotham to know a potential source when he sees one. 

“The Luthors huh?” The stranger hisses through the night, “No good. I heard they been up to something at that shop downtown. Too bad, the daughter’s pretty hot.”

“Almost too hot.” He flicks his wet cigarette in suspicious agreement, “What have you heard?”

“Alls I know is that it’s pretty weird to be having flower arranging classes after midnight, if you catch my drift. Plus my buddy down there, he and his gal are from Starhaven, their dog went missing. Ain’t heard a peep about him, and he’s not exactly a lap dog.” The stranger takes a steps out of the shadow to give Mon-El a level look, “He’s already come out on top of two car chases, you know what I mean? Something got him.”

“Something fishy.” Mon-El pontificates.

“No, something at the Luthor’s apartment building. They live next door and that’s where he’d go to take a leak.” 

“So you’re saying they screwed the pooch?”

“Buddy, alls I’m saying is a very particular dog went missing at a very particular time at a very particular place. I don’t know what they do or don’t do to ‘em.” 

The stranger shifts his eyes and dips back into the shadows behind the bar. Mon-El can’t believe his luck, being a detective is so easy.

“Well, normally missing dogs are a little below my pay grade, but my schedule’s cleared up. I’m on the case.”

Two drinks later and he’s on the case. He’d been tuning out the late night botanical meetings in favor of some late night meetings of his own. With Kara out staying with Alex to “teach him a lesson” the apartment had been aching for more company. A dame or two was enough to get him through the night. But now he’s realizing that those distractions had been too distracting. He’d missed the clues right under his bedroom. Something was going on in that shop and he was going to put a stop to it.

An hour after midnight and the shop’s still lit up. The back door swings open without a sound.

“The jig is up, Luthor!” Mon-El points his finger at Lillian’s back. “I know what you’re up to!”

“Oh, I was wondering when you’d piece it together, agent.” She turns around to face him, “That’s right, I know what you are. I guess you were just too dumb to put it together until now. You’re little ex seemed smarter, if a bit naive, but I guess that’s why she’s moved out.”

“What? Kara? I mean, I had it figured out this whole time, Luthor. I was just waiting for enough proof!”

They start to slowly circle the room. Lillian glares at him as he moves into the space across from her at one of the work tables. She laughs and picks up a flower pot and turns to put it back on the shelf.

“Oh, did one of your little bugs catch me talking? I doubt it. I’ve been very discreet, as you know. But now that you’re here I guess I’ll give you a confession.” She turns back to face him with a gun in her hand. “I know what you are and I know what your weakness is, Daxamite. You’re as good as dead once I give you this lead infusion. The bullet, a classic. Such a simple solution to our infestation problem. What a convenient invention by mankind! For all your alien strength and technology, you might as well be a deer in hunting season.” 

Mon-El opens his hands up. “Whoa, don’t!”

“Don’t what? I’m not going to let some space idiot stop me from finishing my son’s work. You and your kind don’t belong on this planet. I was going to start with Supergirl, but I might as well start with you.”

“I thought you started with that dog?” Mon-El asks.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lillian punctuates her question with a pull of the trigger. The bullet goes through the silencer and into Mon-El’s gut like a hushed sneeze into a tissue. 

He crumples. Lillian rounds the table to end him, but stops short. She’s looking up and so is he. He’s woozy but he swears the flower on the ceiling is getting closer. Is he floating? The plant is bending down, down as if to kiss him. It’s huge. Its petals are separating, opening into blood red fractals of floral beauty. It’s a hallucination. It’s a black hole in front of him. Gaping. It stinks in here. Lillian puts the gun down and covers her face. 

The plant pulls Mon-El into the mouth of its flower and swallows him whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter - Suddenly, Lena


End file.
